His parents won’t be happy but Stefanos Tsitsipas of Greece has taken his ATP Cup clash against Australia’s Nick Kyrgios into a third set after an extraordinary meltdown on Tuesday night.
The world No.6 earned the ire of his father – Greece captain Apostolos Tsitsipas – and his mother who was sitting in the stands for not one but two temper tantrums before squaring the tie’s second singles rubber 6-7 (7-9) 7-6 (7-3) in Brisbane.
After losing the first set, the 2019 Australian Open semi-finalist slammed his racquet into the bench, accidentally clipping his father on the forearm.
His unimpressed dad walked away briefly before Tsitsipas’s mother Julia emerged from the crowd to stand behind the bench and give her son a dressing down for his behaviour.
It appeared to have little effect with Tsitsipas then receiving a point penalty for unsportsmanlike conduct early in the second set when he smashed a ball into his unfortunate bench, this time just missing his dad.
That was enough for his father, who relocated behind the court-side bench as a bemused Kyrgios looked on as Tsitsipas returned to give her son another spray.
All eyes were on Kyrgios to see if he would be on his best behaviour after starting the year with a suspended 16-match ban hanging over his head.
But the world No.30 looked like a choirboy compared to the hot tempered Tsitsipas on Tuesday night.
Kyrgios missed the last tie against Canada with a back complaint but stepped up as Australia’s No.1 player on Tuesday after world No.18 Alex de Minaur was rested against Greece.
Earlier, John Millman drew first blood for Australia when he outlasted a gutsy Michail Pervolarakis 4-6 6-1 7-6 (7-1).
World No.48 Millman had to dig deep against an opponent ranked 438 places lower than him who was also battling an ankle complaint from the second set.
De Minaur was rested for Australia, who have already secured top spot in Group F and a quarter-finals berth in Sydney following wins over Germany and Canada.